marseille

630 9th ave @ 44th st

sometimes, living and mostly dining in e village or lower manhattan, i wonder: where do people go in manhattan when they don’t want to eat on top of each other?

yes, i do actually know of a few decent and not $200+ answers to that question (Otto springs to mind as the last place I took a group of >5 people), but still its a rarity for me to a) frequent those locales, and b) find them in the first place.

so here’s another find. marseille. a month plus ago (yes, yes, i’m still catching up after a long pause in my blogging), my cousin A and my aunt were in the city. i had a fundraiser to go to (no, not the life of a socialite, but the life of an alumna of a social service org) earlier that evening at the alvin ailey dance studios in hell’s kitchen, so, being almost entirely ignorant of the neighborhood, i spent a good amount of time searching for restaurants that were moderately priced but well-reviewed and settled on marseille.

it’s a roomy affair, with an unfortunately bland, nondescript decor. (reminds of a what applebee’s might have been when it was a mom-and-pop shop without the dark wood). fortunately, the food turned out to be quite delicious. i had the lamb couscous which was very yummy and served with a few little side condiment type things which i couldn’t identify but which i ate with relish. A had a steak frites, which was also good. the portion sizes were good-sized, so despite being on the moderate-to-expensive ($18-30) side for me, it wasn’t a wash.

that being said, it wasn’t so spectacularly good at the given price that i rush to go again. but if you’re okay with the price range and need a place for a big group, give it a go.